The Jumpstarting Opportunity with Broadband Spectrum (JOBS) Act, passed by the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications last week, has been rolled into a House Republican bill unveiled today to extend the payroll tax cut and unemployment benefits into 2012. The JOBS Act, introduced by Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR), includes provisions for non-public safety entities to access the 700 MHz public safety broadband network - a key issue for utilities. The legislation allocates the spectrum to public safety agencies, but would require first responders to give back another the 14 MHz of narrowband spectrum they are currently using. It would set aside about $6.5 billion for that network. House and Senate committee staff are already working to iron out differences between the JOBS Act and S. 911, passed by the Senate Commerce Committee last July. Those differences concern the governance structure, amount of funding for network construction, maintenance and operations and the public safety narrowband spectrum reallocation. A Senate staffer noted that the House and Senate are close to agreement. UTC is working with committee staff to ensure that utilities are provided an opportunity to partner with public safety in the network buildout and operations.